Purina feed facility damaged by fire to be rebuilt

Purina Animal Nutrition and Commodity Resource Corp. are planning to rebuild a feed manufacturing facility and dry fertilizer distribution center in Caledonia, New York, that was destroyed by a fire in late 2014.
“We know the last 10 months have been difficult for everyone, especially our employees and customers,” Brian Gier, Purina’s vice president of feed sales, told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. “We support construction of this state-of-the art facility because we are committed to our employees, the community and meeting our customers’ needs.”
The feed facility fire was reported on November 1, 2014 and may have burned for several days as a result of spontaneous combustion of grain. None of the plant employees were injured in the fire, according to reports, but one firefighter did suffer a knee injury while bringing the fire under control.
Efforts to rebuild the plant are expected to begin this fall, with the new facility expected to be completed in early 2017.
The facility, which sits on 86 acres, is owned by the Commodity Resource Corp., headquartered in Caledonia. For more than ten years, the property has been leased by Purina Animal Nutrition, a subsidiary of Land O’Lakes, headquartered in Arden Hills, Minnesota.

Jury rules against Land O'Lakes Purina in dairy cow poisoning case

A jury has ordered Land O'Lakes Purina Feed to pay a pair of dairy farmers in Tillamook, Ore., $750,000 in damages for poisoning their dairy cows.
The trial, which wrapped up in December 2013 in Tillamook County Circuit Court, ended on a 10-2 verdict in favor of Neal and Nancy Kaste after food from Land O'Lakes Purina Feed killed 140 of their milking cows, Tillamook County Pioneer reported.
Despite the jury's wishes to increase the damages, the judge capped the maximum award at $750,000 plus attorneys' fees.
A salesman from Land O'Lakes, who was not trained in animal nutrition, adjusted the formula of feed sold to the Kastes, upping the amount of copper in the feed to six times the required level and taking out needed phosphorous. As a result, the excessive copper slowly poisoned the cattle, while the lack of phosphorous caused the cattle's bodies to begin feeding on the phosphorus in their bones.
"These cows were literally dying on their feet," said Anne Foster, one of the Kaste's attorneys. "Dairy farmers are close to their cows. The Kastes had names for all of them. They began watching their cows get sick and die before their eyes, and at first they didn't know why."
The Kastes began purchasing feed from Land O'Lakes in November 2005, unaware that it contained dangerously high levels of copper. Shortly after, their cows started to produce less milk and appeared sick. Over the next two years, the problems worsened until the end of November 2007, when many of the Kastes' animals started dying.

Land O’Lakes Purina Feed offers undergraduate scholarships

Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC announced it will award five $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors who demonstrate scholastic achievement, leadership in agriculture, and a perceived ability to contribute to agriculture in the future.
The First Step Swine Creep Feed scholarship program is available to high school graduates pursuing a two- or four-year degree in animal science with bias in swine nutrition and management, or closely related fields.
To qualify for the program, a student must:
*Be a high school senior, graduating in spring of 2010.Demonstrate leadership abilities and academic performance.
*Complete an application.
*Write essays describing why he or she is interested in a career in animal science with a focus on swine nutrition and management.
Applications are available on the Purina Pig Starter and UltraCare Feed Web sites. All applications must be postmarked by June 14, 2010. Winners will be notified by mail on or before July 31, 2010.